Multiple material fairway-type golf club head

ABSTRACT

A fairway-wood type golf club head having a composite crown is disclosed herein. The fairway-wood type golf club head comprises a cast subassembly and a compression molded crown component which is bonded to the subassembly. Each of the subassembly and the crown component has a non-overlapping bonding flange that bonds with an interior surface.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/119,991, filed on Dec. 4, 2008.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a multiple material fairway-type golfclub head.

2. Description of the Related Art

The prior art discloses several methods for forming a golf club head.

One method is full casting which involves casting the entire golf clubhead, usually with a face pull tool. Duquette et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,978,976 for a Magnetized Core With Pneumatic Release System ForCreating A Wax Mold For A Golf Club Head describes certain aspects ofthe full casting method. Then a face insert is welded to the golf clubhead.

Another method is using a full casting method, using a face pull tooland then cutting a crown opening. A graphite crown is then bonded tocover the opening thereby forming a multiple material golf club head.

Yet another method is forming an entire golf club head from multiplepieces. In this method, several pieces (crown, sole, face and hosel) arewelded together to form a precursor golf club head. Then, an opening iscut in the crown creating an opening. A graphite crown is then bonded tocover the opening thereby forming a multiple material golf club head.

Yet another method is a high performance multiple piece golf club head.This forming method involves making a multiple piece golf club head. Thecrown material needs to be of high quality expensive titanium so priorto welding the crown component to the sole component, the crown ischemically milled to the limits of drop tower durability. The chemicalmilling process is necessary to render the crown component to becompetitive with graphite strength to weight ratio.

The current construction includes tacking a face component to sole(called face subassembly). Manually trim and tack crown to facesubassembly. Fully weld face, crown, and sole (21 inches of weld). Grindweld and polish head.

Each of these prior art methods have drawbacks. Both multiple piecegraphite crown and full casting require the manufacturer to produce acomplete golf club head. The crown opening is then cut and replaced witha graphite crown. This is obviously wasteful because of the need tofabricate an entire golf club head and then removing a portion. The highperformance multiple piece golf club head remedies this wastefulness byutilizing an expensive titanium material and which adds more cost torender the crown component weight competitive to graphite crowns.

Present day golf clubs are typically composed of titanium or steel, andeither cast or forged. Various patents have disclosed the use ofmultiple material golf club heads, generally combining a metal with anon-metal. Various patents have disclosed the use of metal injectionmolding for golf clubs.

Sanford et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,014, for a Metal Golf Club Head AndMethod Of Manufacture, discloses a golf club head with two componentswith at least one of the components composed of a metal injection moldedmaterial.

Gressel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,842, for a Preparation Of ArticlesUsing Metal Injection Molding, discloses an entire golf club headcomposed of a metal injection molded material having a stainless steeland tungsten alloy composition.

Gressel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,898, for a Preparation Of ArticlesUsing Metal Injection Molding, discloses forming an entire golf clubhead composed of a metal injection molded material having a stainlesssteel and tungsten alloy composition.

Zhang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,418, for a TI-ZR Type Alloy AndMedical Appliance Formed Thereof, discloses a titanium-zirconium alloythat may be used for golf club components.

Sakata et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,407, for a Process For ProducingSintered Product, discloses a process for metal injection molding.

LaSalle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,746, for a Co-Sintering Of SimilarMaterials, discloses a process of fusing two dissimilar material partsthrough use of co-sintering including a golf putter.

Takahashi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,686, for a Method Of ManufacturingSintered Compact, discloses sintering a green body formed by metalinjection molding.

LaSalle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,493, for a Net Shape Hastelloy XMade By Metal Injection Molding Using An Aqueous Binder, discloses metalinjecting a Hastelloy X powder.

Zedalis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,208, for a Process For Debinding AndSintering Metal Injection Molded Parts Made With An Aqueous Binder,discloses metal injection molding a 17-4PH stainless steel alloy.

Takahashi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,102, for a Method Of ManufacturingSintered Compact, discloses sintering a green body formed by metalinjection molding.

Numerous techniques have been used for weighting golf club heads inorder to gain better performance. In persimmon wood club heads, weightswere attached to the sole in order to lower the center of gravity. Thefirst metal woods had sufficient weight, however, the weightdistribution deterred slightly from performance. The refinement ofhollow metal woods with weighting on the sole improved upon theperformance of these clubs. An example of such woods were the GREAT BIGBERTHA® HAWK EYE® drivers and fairway woods, developed by the CallawayGolf Company of Carlsbad, Calif., that used a tungsten screw in the soleof each titanium club head body to vary the weight of the golf clubhead.

Another example is set forth in Helmstetter et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,364,788, for a Weighting System For A Golf Club Head, which disclosesusing a bismuth material within an internal cavity to add mass to a golfclub head, particularly a fairway wood.

Yet a further example is set forth in Evans et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,409,612, for a Weighting Member For A Golf Club Head, which disclosesa weighting device composed of a polymer body with ports to allow forplacement of high density members such as tungsten spheres.

Another example of additional weighting of a golf club head is set forthin U.S. U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,309, which discloses the use of threeweights fixedly disposed within the interior of a club head to provide aselected moment of inertia for the club head. Yet another example is setforth in British Patent Application Number 2332149 for a Golf Club HeadWith Back Weighting Member, which discloses a weight pocket in theexterior rear of a wood for placement of epoxy inserts that vary indensity.

An example of positioning mass in a golf club head for performance isdisclosed in Helmstetter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,983, for a GolfClub Head With Customizable Center Of Gravity, which discloses a methodand golf club head which allows a golfer to select a preferred center ofgravity location for better ball striking.

A further example of positioning mass for performance is set forth inHelmstetter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,605 for a Hollow, Metallic Golf ClubHead With Configured Medial Ridge, which discloses a golf club head witha center of gravity located in vertical alignment with a local zonedefined by ridge on a sole of the golf club head.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a fairway-type golf club head that seeksto reduce the waste from current manufacturing methods while achievingsimilar or better performance than the high performance multiple piecegolf club heads at a price point that is similar to conventionalmultiple piece golf club heads.

The fairway type golf club head comprises a subassembly having a bondingflange extending from a return section of a face component and a crowncomponent having a bonding flange extending downward. The bonding flangeof the crown component and the bonding flange of the subassembly do notoverlap although both flanges are undercuts and are located to bond withan interior surface of either the crown component or the subassembly.

One aspect of the present invention is a fairway-wood-type golf clubhead comprising a subassembly and a crown component. The subassembly ispreferably composed of a stainless steel material. The subassembly has amass ranging from 150 grams to 250 grams. The crown component has a massranging from 10 grams to 30 grams. The golf club head has a mass rangingfrom 200 grams to 300 grams.

Having briefly described the present invention, the above and furtherobjects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by thoseskilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description ofthe invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an unfinished golf club head.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an unfinished golf club head.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of an unfinished golf club head.

FIG. 4 is an isolated top perspective view of an interior of asubassembly of a golf club head to illustrate the bonding flange of aface component.

FIG. 5 is an isolated front perspective view of a crown component of agolf club head illustrating the bonding flange of the crown component.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged isolated view of a crown component of FIG. 5illustrating the bonding flange and joint for bonding with thesubassembly.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a bonding joint of a golf club headillustrating a bonding flange of the face component and the crowncomponent.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a bonding joint of a golf club headillustrating a bonding flange of a crown component and a sole component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention a crown component 16 is bonded into the golfclub head subassembly, composed of a face component 10 and a solecomponent 18. The face component 10 comprises a striking plate section12 and a return section 14 extending rearward from a perimeter of thestriking plate section.

As shown in FIGS. 1-8, a fairway-type golf club head 20 is composed of asubassembly, which comprises the face component 10 and the solecomponent 18 with a bonding flange 19, and a crown component 16 with abonding flange 17 in order to construct the fairway-type golf club head20 according to a method of the present invention.

The crown component 16 has a bonding flange 17 between itself and thesole 18. The bonding flange 17 is substantially perpendicular to the topsection of the crown component 16. The bonding flange 17 is formed as anundercut relative to an edge of the top section of the crown component16.

The return section 14 comprises a bonding flange 19 formed as anundercut extending rearward approximately 0.200 inch from a top rearwardedge of the return section 14. The crown component 16 is adhesivelybonded to the subassembly with an interior surface of a front portion ofthe top section of the crown component 16 bonded to an exterior surfaceof the bonding flange 19 of the return section 14 of the face component10 of the subassembly. Additionally, the exterior surface of the bondingflange 17 of the crown component 16 is bonded to an interior surface ofa portion of the sole component 18 of the subassembly. The subassemblyis composed of a stainless steel material and comprises at least 70% ofthe mass of the golf club head. The crown component 16 is composed of acompression molded graphite material.

In one embodiment, the golf club head 20 has a loft angle of at leastthirteen degrees. In a preferred embodiment, the fairway-type golf clubhead 20 comprises a hosel 22, which may be either an interior hosel oran exterior hosel. In yet another embodiment, the golf club head 20 hasa volume of less than 400 cubic centimeters

In yet another example, a subassembly comprised of a sole component 18and a face component 10 have a bonding flange 19 formed as an undercutextending rearward. The crown component 16 has top section and a bondingflange 17 substantially perpendicular to the top section. The bonding isformed as an undercut relative to an edge of the top section.

The crown component 16 is bonded to the subassembly with an interiorsurface of a front portion of the top section of the crown component 16bonded to an exterior surface of the bonding flange 19 of the facecomponent 10 of the subassembly. Additionally, the exterior surface ofthe bonding flange 17 of the crown component 16 is bonded to an interiorsurface of a portion of the sole component 18 of the subassembly.

In one embodiment, the subassembly of the golf club head 20 is composedof a titanium alloy material. In another embodiment, the subassembly iscomposed of a stainless steel material. In yet another embodiment, thecrown component 16 is composed of a non-metal material.

The resulting weight of the crown in carbon composite ranges from 5grams to 30 grams, more preferably from 10 grams to 25 grams. The weightof the crown in the high performance multi-piece of the prior art isapproximately 31 grams. By using the method of construction of thepresent invention, a manufacturer obtains at least an additional sevengrams of discretionary weight that can be used in other sections of thegolf club head to improve mass properties such as moment of inertias(Izz, Iyy and Izz) through the center of gravity of the golf club head,durability (thicker face regions or other regions open to stress duringloading), and lower the positioning of the center of gravity by shiftingthe mass of the golf club head.

The golf club head 20 preferably has a volume from 100 cubic centimetersto 600 cubic centimeters, more preferably from 130 cubic centimeters to475 cubic centimeters. When designed as a hybrid wood, the golf clubhead 20 preferably has a volume ranging from 130 cubic centimeters to300 cubic centimeters, and more preferably from 150 cubic centimeters to275 cubic centimeters. The volume of the golf club head 20 will alsovary between lofts.

The golf club head 20 preferably has a mass ranging from 220 grams to300 grams, more preferably from 225 grams to 260 grams. The golf clubhead 20 is preferably a hybrid wood, with a loft angle ranging from 18degrees to 27 degrees, (18, 21, 24, 27 degrees hybrids) and a lie anglevarying from 58.50 degrees to 60 degrees (58.50, 59, 59.50 and 60degrees hybrids). The mass also varies depending on the loft angle withthe higher lofted hybrid having more mass.

The golf club head 20 preferably has a length ranging from 2.0 inches to3.0 inches, more preferably from 2.25 to 2.50 inches and most preferably2.4 inches. The club head 20 preferably has a height ranging from 1.25inches to 1.75 inches, more preferably from 1.35 inches to 1.50 inchesand most preferably 1.42 inches.

In general, the moment of inertia, Izz, about the Z axis for the golfclub head 20 of the present invention will range from 1900 g-cm² to 3000g-cm², preferably from 1990 g-cm² to 2800 g-cm², and most preferablyfrom 1990 g-cm² to 2600 g-cm². The moment of inertia, Iyy, about the Yaxis for the golf club head 20 of the present invention will range from900 g-cm² to 1700 g-cm², preferably from 950 g-cm² to 1500 g-cm², andmost preferably from 965 g-cm² to 1300 g-cm².

From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinentart will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention andwill readily understand that while the present invention has beendescribed in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and otherembodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes,modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which isintended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in thefollowing appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the inventionin which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined inthe following appended claims.

1. A fairway-wood type golf club head comprising: a subassemblycomprising a face component and a sole component, the face componentsection comprising a striking plate section and a return sectionextending rearward from a perimeter of the striking plate section, thereturn section having a bonding flange formed as an undercut extendingrearward approximately 0.200 inch from a top rearward edge of the returnsection, the subassembly composed of a stainless steel material andcomprising at least 70% of the mass of the golf club head; a crowncomponent composed of a compression molded graphite material, the crowncomponent having top section and a bonding flanged substantiallyperpendicular to the top section, the bonding formed as an undercutrelative to an edge of the top section; wherein the crown component isadhesively bonded to the subassembly with an interior surface of a frontportion of the top section of the crown component bonded to an exteriorsurface of the bonding flange of the return section of the facecomponent of the subassembly and an exterior surface of the bondingflange of the crown component bonded to an interior surface of a portionof the sole component of the subassembly.
 2. The fairway-wood type golfclub head according to claim 1 wherein the golf club head has a loftangle of at least thirteen degrees.
 3. The fairway-wood type golf clubhead according to claim 1 wherein the fairway-wood type golf club headhas a volume of less than 400 cubic centimeters.
 4. The fairway-woodtype golf club head according to claim 1 wherein the subassembly furthercomprises a hosel.
 5. The fairway-wood type golf club head according toclaim 4 wherein the hosel is an exterior hosel.
 6. The fairway-wood typegolf club head according to claim 4 wherein the hosel is an interiorhosel.
 7. A fairway-wood type golf club head comprising: a subassemblyhaving a sole component and a face component with a bonding flangeformed as an undercut extending rearward; a crown component having topsection and a bonding flange substantially perpendicular to the topsection, the bonding formed as an undercut relative to an edge of thetop section; wherein the crown component is bonded to the subassemblywith an interior surface of a front portion of the top section of thecrown component bonded to an exterior surface of the bonding flange ofthe face component of the subassembly and an exterior surface of thebonding flange of the crown component bonded to an interior surface of aportion of the sole component of the subassembly.
 8. The fairway-woodtype golf club head according to claim 7 wherein the subassembly iscomposed of a titanium alloy material.
 9. The fairway-wood type golfclub head according to claim 7 wherein the subassembly is composed of astainless steel material.
 10. The fairway-wood type golf club headaccording to claim 7 wherein the crown component is composed of anon-metal material.